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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24099973">Light above Light</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_dishwasher/pseuds/the_dishwasher'>the_dishwasher</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>What reinforcement we may gain from hope [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Lucifer (TV), 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cloud Recesses, Gen, LWJ plays inquiry, M/M, Missing Scene, attempt at comedy, but no prior Lucifer knowledge required, but the pining is inescapable, but the wires get fused somewhere, set after wwx's death, so for a really long time inquiry has been the only thing heard in hell, vaguely a Lucifer crossover</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:42:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,008</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24099973</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_dishwasher/pseuds/the_dishwasher</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever since Wei Wuxian’s fall from the cliff years ago, Lan Wangji has been playing Inquiry to try to find him. This night is just as fruitless as the nights before, but Lan Wangji’s playing is interrupted by the arrival of an uninvited guest…</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>What reinforcement we may gain from hope [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1737538</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Light above Light</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Part 2 of a set of one-shots exploring the themes shared between <i>The Untamed</i> and <i>Lucifer</i>. There are parallels between Lan Wangji and Lucifer too: The Light Bearing Lord / The Bringer of light; having Regrets; the experience of loss…</p><p>But that’s too sad, this story was based on a lol premise, I swear. Also, here I’m calling the qin a zither for a change of scene… hope that’s ok?</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>
  <i>Is it you, Wei Ying?</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Have you seen Wei Ying?</i>
</p><p>The Light Bearing Lord of the Gusu Lan Sect, Lan Wangji, plucked at the zither strings in yet another Inquiry. The answer would be the same tonight as it had been the night before. The Light Bearing Lord had been playing Inquiry for years. To all others, it was evident that the Yiling Patriarch had died, falling from the cliffs at Nightless City. But the Light Bearing Lord was a patient man and would continue playing Inquiry as long as it would take to find the Yiling Patriarch among the spirits.</p><p>Not finding Wei Ying was not an option. The Light Bearing Lord continued at the zither, and nothing moved in the quiet evening but Lan Wangji’s fingers, the zither strings and the flickering candlelight.</p><p>He was part way through Inquiry when there was another presence in the room. At once, Lan Wangji’s hand moved to the hilt of his sword.</p><p>‘Stop. Please stop,’ an unfamiliar voice said. The Light Bearing Lord drew his sword and stood to face the intruder. </p><p>‘You’re the devil,’ Lan Wangji said. He gripped his sword. Had his Inquiry reached the devil himself? He knew that the devil was cunning and evil. And, if the devil was cunning, surely it couldn’t hurt to ask?</p><p>‘Have you seen Wei Ying?’</p><p>The devil turned green like he was about to cough up blood.</p><p>‘Just, no,’ the devil said. ‘What is with you, Master Cultivator? You’ve managed to tune your zither to my infernal frequency, and all I’ve been hearing is, “Twang twang twang, are you Wei Ying? Have you seen Wei Ying?”’ The devil sighed and collected himself. ‘The demons are crawling out of their skulls and the souls are tearing out their hair. It’s been going on and on. What is a Wei Ying and why do you care?’</p><p>Lan Wangji had been asking himself that same question ever since Wei Ying burst into the Cloud Recesses carrying not one but two jars of forbidden alcohol all those years ago. Lan Wangji thought that he had come upon the answer when Wei Ying had prised himself loose from Lan Wangji’s grasp at the cliffs in Nightless City, never to be seen again.</p><p>In the long years since, Lan Wangji had only become more certain that his answer was correct.</p><p>The devil, meanwhile, was rummaging through the shelves and cabinets.</p><p>‘No alcohol? No tobacco? No porn?’ He was disappointed. ‘What is this, a monastery? It’s not healthy, you know.’</p><p>‘No touching others’ possessions without permission,’ Lan Wangji said sternly. Nonetheless, he extracted a cup and a jar of alcohol from under the floorboards. He poured the devil a cup.</p><p>‘You’re not much of a talker, are you?’ the devil said, taking the cup of wine. ‘I’ll cut to the chase then. I’ll do you a favour.’</p><p>Lan Wangji narrowed his eyes. ‘Favours are forbidden in the Cloud Recesses.’</p><p>‘Oh, give over,’ the devil said. ‘I’m here now, aren’t I? Go on, I’ve not done this for ages. What is it that you desire beneath this dull exterior of yours?’</p><p>The Light Bearing Lord was a formidable cultivator and a force to be reckoned with. To keep the devil’s gaze from snaking its way into his thoughts, all Lan Wangji had to do was focus on his breathing and keep his mind still.</p><p>‘You’re a stubborn one,’ the devil said, not breaking eye contact, ‘But you’ve already told me. You want this Wei Ying, whatever it is.’</p><p>At those words, however, the Light Bearing Lord faltered. His movement was so slight that it would have been imperceptible to most, but the devil picked up on it immediately. The devil grinned.</p><p>‘Tell me more about your desire for Wei Ying,’ the devil soothed, and his words reached right through Lan Wangji to the tips of his fingers. The Light Bearing Lord sat down and reached for the zither strings.</p><p>The music seemed familiar to the devil. He remembered a thin youth, sitting by the mouth of a cave amid a battlefield of skeletons, playing the tune on a flute he’d fashioned out of bone.</p><p>‘Ah,’ the devil said as the final zither string resonated, ‘It’s you.’</p><p>Lan Wangji watched the devil and said nothing. </p><p>‘I have seen this Wei Ying of yours once, though I suspect it’s not what you ask of me,’ the devil said.</p><p>‘Wei Ying is gone,’ Lan Wangji said. ‘He fell from a cliff in Quishan, years ago.’</p><p>Lan Wangji remembered how Wei Ying had taken one step back towards the edge of the cliff and then another. He thought of how, after Wei Ying’s fall, nothing of him remained. Yet, it was possible that Wei Ying had ended up with the devil.</p><p>Lan Wangji asked, ‘Have you seen Wei Ying since then?’</p><p>The devil thought for a few moments.</p><p>‘He’s not down there,’ the devil said. ‘I couldn’t tell you if he’s in the other place.’ He drank the last of the wine. Lan Wangji was not sure if he was encouraged or disappointed.</p><p>The devil stood up and bowed, preparing to leave, but then remembered something and tapped the zither gently. </p><p>‘Your search shall not reach me anymore. Consider us even. My patience was wearing quite thin, Master Cultivator. I hope that yours does not.’</p><p>The devil unfurled his wings, shining and white. They illuminated even the darkest corners of the rooms of the Light Bearing Lord of the Gusu Lan Sect. Then he and the light were gone, and Lan Wangji was alone.</p><p>The Light Bearing Lord was tempted to pour a cup of wine for himself but thought better of it. He collected the papers that had scattered all over the floor at the devil’s departure and re-lit the candles. Then, he sat down at the zither. The devil needn’t have worried. Calmly and methodically, the Light Bearing Lord picked up where he had left off, just like he always would.</p><p>‘Is it you, Wei Ying?’ the zither asked.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! I had a bit less to say here. That’s kind of it for now, but I might add more to this series as and when.</p><p>The title and series title are taken from Paradise Lost, <strike>which I read after watching Lucifer</strike>.</p><p>I’m not entirely sure what Chenqing is made of (is it bamboo?) but I rather like the idea of it being made of a nice long bit of bone, just WWX making do with whatever’s lying around in the Burial Mounds.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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